Daily air passengers took the skies from Dubuque in 2024, while book lovers shopped at a national chain that made its local debut. An iconic tourist attraction was sold, while a financial services firm founded in Dubuque prepared for a multi-billion dollar acquisition.

Those developments were among the top 10 local business stories of 2024 listed below, as determined by the Telegraph Herald’s editorial staff.

DAILY AIR SERVICE RETURNS TO DUBUQUE

Dubuque’s connection with the rest of the country strengthened this year.

Daily passenger air service returned to Dubuque Regional Airport in November, with regional carrier Denver Air Connection offering flights to Chicago O’Hare International Airport.

The service to Chicago marks the first regularly scheduled flights out of Dubuque since low-cost carrier Avelo Airlines made its last flight in April. It also ends the drought for daily service in Dubuque that began with American Airlines’ 2022 departure.

The Denver Air flights were made possible in part by extensive lobbying by local leaders and the approval of a $2 million Small Community Air Service Development grant from U.S. Department of Transportation.

Denver Air Connection has access to that money to ensure its flights meet a minimum revenue threshold.

A DUBUQUE CASINO CONTINUES TRANSFORMATION

A year of transformation at one of Dubuque’s gaming establishments ended with the departure of the leader whose vision helped precipitate the changes.

In November, Q Casino + Resort and DRA CEO and President Alex Dixon announced he will leave Dubuque to become CEO of Resorts World in Las Vegas.

Dixon took the reins of Q Casino in 2021, replacing longtime CEO Jesus Aviles. In the three years since, he has been a prominent and outspoken advocate for the nonprofit gaming facility and its ongoing $83 million renovation as well as Dubuque in general.

The casino has undergone a complete interior remodel and added an all-ages arcade. Construction continues to add a seven-story boutique hotel adjacent to the casino, and plans are drafted for the addition of an all-seasons PinSeekers golf complex.

Additionally, a new outdoor concert venue is expected to be finished next winter in time for the 2026 season.

TOURISM BOOSTS LOCAL ECONOMY AS ICONIC SITE SOLD

Tourism continues its healthy contribution to the tri-state area’s economy, while 2024 saw the sale of an iconic attraction.

The Iowa Tourism Office released data showing that visitors spent a record $7.3 billion in 2023 on food, travel, lodging, recreation, entertainment and other tourism-related expenditures, up 5.1% from 2022.

Local officials said tri-state area trends mirrored Iowa’s statewide experience.

Keith Rahe, president and CEO of Travel Dubuque, said in October that Dubuque County’s growing popularity is due in part to the area’s robust outdoor recreation opportunities and youth sports offerings — namely the youth baseball tournaments held each summer at Field of Dreams Movie Site in Dyersville, Iowa.

In 2024, 453 teams from 20 states and Canada played in the tournaments that brought more than 30,000 people to the Dyersville area.

For 2025, the goal is to continue that growth and register 525 teams.

In September, Dyersville-based nonprofit Dyersville Events Inc. took ownership of the Field of Dreams property from Go the Distance Baseball.

Representatives of the new ownership group said the nonprofit plans to enhance and preserve the property.

RIPPLES OF NATIONAL AG INDUSTRY DECLINE FELT IN DUBUQUE AREA

A decline in the nation’s agriculture industry had a widespread impact around the tri-state area.

John Deere officials announced in July the layoff of 34 people at the Dubuque Works plant amid global reductions to its salaried staff. The month before, the company also announced plans to lay off about 100 Dubuque production employees effective Aug. 30.

Amid slow nationwide sales of large farm equipment, local implement dealers worked to provide financing options and encourage sales.

According to the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, U.S. sales of combines dropped 31% in June compared to the same month in 2023. Meanwhile, June sales of two-wheel-drive tractors dropped 16.3% compared to 2023, and sales of four-wheel-drive tractors fell 1.3%.

Mike “Buck” Budde, who works in sales with Roeder Implement in Dubuque, said during the summer that his business had seen sales of farm equipment “drastically” decline.

FIRM FOUNDED IN DUBUQUE SUBJECT OF $2 BILLION ACQUISITION

Dubuque’s financial services landscape shifted in the spring with the announcement of a multi-billion dollar transaction involving a firm with a large Dubuque presence.

UMB Financial executives in April announced their intention to acquire HTLF, the parent company of Dubuque Bank & Trust, in a roughly $2 billion, all-stock deal approved this summer by the shareholders of both institutions.

UMB Financial CEO Mariner Kemper said during an October earnings call with investors that the HTLF acquisition is “on track” to close sometime in the first quarter of 2025, pending regulatory approval.

Founded in 1981 in Dubuque, HTLF reported total assets of $18.27 billion as of Sept. 30, a 6% decrease from $19.41 billion at the end of 2023. Total deposits were $14.95 billion, compared to $16.2 billion on Dec. 31, 2023.

In 2023, HTLF relocated its headquarters from Dubuque to Denver, Colo. as part of a push to consolidate the company’s 11 charters into a single location.

Personnel changes were also announced, as HTLF’s leader was set to retire at the end of 2024

President and CEO Bruce Lee announced in February that he would retire at the end of 2024 from his position as CEO and his spot on the company’s board of directors.

CHILD CARE EFFORTS BEAR FRUIT

Local efforts to increase child care opportunities began to bear fruit in 2024.

A child care center with space for 250 children opened in Dyersville, Iowa, in November.

The Michael & Jean Knepper Child Care Center is located in Dyersville’s 20 West Industrial Park.

The 17,560-square-foot facility is run by the Kid Project, which has operated a nonprofit child care center in Dyersville for years and was funded through both local donations and state grants.

The project got a major boost later that year in the form of a $1.75 million state grant funded with federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars that came to economic development nonprofit Dyersville Industries.

In Dubuque, a community-wide effort spurred by Greater Dubuque Development Corp. and Dubuque Initiatives led to the opening of the Bright Minds Campus on Chavenelle Road, which is home to both Dubuque Y Early Learning Center and Dubuque Community School District’s Seedlings Preschool Center.

Additional child care is on the horizon, too.

During the summer, Cottingham & Butler launched the construction of a new child care center at the intersection of Locust and Eighth streets. The project has an estimated $8.9 million construction value, per permit filings, and is expected to add 182 local child care slots when it opens in 2025. Cottingham & Butler employees will receive priority enrollment.

HEALTH CARE TRANSITIONS AND A MILESTONE ANNIVERSARY

Leadership changes and layoffs marked the year in the local health care industry.

Dubuque-based Grand River Medical Group laid off 52 employees on Feb. 1, according to documents the company filed with Iowa Workforce Development. Multiple people associated with Grand River Medical Group told the Telegraph Herald that non-compete agreements were enforced for at least some of the medical care providers who lost their jobs.

Grand River Medical Group also informed patients after the layoffs in February that its clinic in Cascade, Iowa, would close for the foreseeable future because the facility’s care provider no longer worked at Grand River.

A new health care facility opened in Grant County, Wis. Medical Associates, in partnership with MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center, opened a Family Care Network clinic in Lancaster, Wis.

Also in southwest Wisconsin, the Upper Mississippi Surgery Center opened in Jamestown off Badger Road.

Local leadership changes in health care included the announced retirement of Kay Takes.

The MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center hospital president is leaving the organization after 30 years.

Takes held various positions at MercyOne over the years, including vice president of patient care and chief nursing officer of the Dubuque and Dyersville medical centers, before becoming president of both in 2015. Takes also oversaw Iowa MercyOne medical centers in Clinton, Elkader and Guttenberg from 2018 to 2023.

The CEO of Dubuque’s Crescent Community Health Center announced his departure from the organization in July.

Gary Collins led Crescent from 2019 until Aug. 2. His decision to leave the role was prompted when his husband, Clay Gibson, took a new leadership role with Apple.

Collins’ replacement is Chad Wolbers, the former president and CEO of UnityPoint Health-Finley Hospital from 2019 to 2023.

In southwest Wisconsin, Tami Chambers was named CEO at Grant Regional Health Center in Lancaster. She replaced former CEO Dave Smith, who resigned in December 2023.

The year also marked a milestone anniversary in local health care.

Medical Associates Clinic celebrated 100 years in Dubuque. The organization was founded in April 1924 by three doctors who planned to create a group of physicians from different specialties to provide more efficient health care to the tri-state area.

DUBUQUE HOUSING STOCK INCREASES

The need for housing remained an issue for local businesses and municipalities in 2024, though economic developers touted new homes built in the area as workforce-development wins.

In Dubuque, 32 new multi-family housing units came online during the March to November primary construction season, while construction had started on 194 additional units and 201 proposed units had site plans approved by city officials.

Dubuque had a total of 403 homes under construction as of November, including those begun in 2023.

As Peosta continues to grow, East Central Intergovernmental Association is helping the city with a housing study, which will assess existing housing conditions, predict future housing needs and give recommendations accordingly. Housing has been a contentious issue in Peosta, which has grown substantially in recent decades. The city’s population of 651 in 2000 more than doubled to 1,377 in 2010 and grew to 1,908 by 2020, according to U.S. Census data.

IOWA HEMP LAW FORCES CLOSURE OF 2 DUBUQUE STORES

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill in May that limits the amount of THC in consumable hemp products, such as beverages and gummies, to 4 milligrams per serving and 10 milligrams per container. The law, which went into effect July 1, also bans the sale of consumable hemp products to customers under the age of 21 and creates standards for labeling.

By August, the law’s impact included the closure of a pair of Dubuque stores, according to their owners.

Galena, Ill.-based company Botanicanna, which sells a variety of CBD- and THC-infused products, closed its Dubuque location. Officials with RiverBluff Collective closed their Dubuque store earlier in the summer.

As the year ends, the city of East Dubuque, Ill., is poised to welcome two new cannabis dispensaries in the opening months of 2025.

Cannabis company nuEra will open an adult-use and medical cannabis dispensary at 20170 U.S. 20 West and cannabis dispensary Bridge City Collective is currently under construction at 122 Sinsinawa Ave. in downtown East Dubuque.

KENNEDY MALL WELCOMES NEW TENANTS AMONG LOCAL RETAIL DEVELOPMENTS

Dubuque’s Kennedy Mall mirrored a national trend in 2024 as the 54-year-old facility varied its store offerings while introducing a locally owned, independent department store as well as national and regional retailers.

The launch of two entities owned by Irvin Johnson, of Durango, Iowa, bookended the mall’s busy year.

Johnson opened World Earth Minerals in January at the mall. The store offers a variety of rocks, minerals and ores, as well as related literature and collectibles. Attached is a storefront for This & That, which offers discount merchandise. The stores are located on the mall’s north end near Daily Thread and The Fun Station.

In November, Johnson opened World Earth Minerals Superstore, an independent department store located in a portion of the former Younkers space near Planet Fitness and The Fun Station.

The store offers everything from clothing and bedding to furniture and toys.

Johnson plans to eventually expand the store to occupy 66,000 square feet on both levels of the former Younkers, which closed its Kennedy Mall locations during the summer of 2018.

Homeware retailer HomeGoods opened in May at the mall. The store occupies the spaces that formerly housed multiple other Kennedy Mall tenants, including Books-A-Million. HomeGoods is one of the major retailers under TJX Cos., which also operates stores such as T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and Sierra.

A national sports apparel chain opened two Dubuque locations this year, including one at the mall.

Rally House opened in July at the mall following the May opening of another Rally House at the Asbury Plaza shopping center.

Rally House offers sports apparel, gifts and home décor, including licensed merchandise for NCAA, NFL, NBA and MLB teams. The company tailors its inventory to local clientele. The mall’s Rally House includes merchandise of Midwestern professional teams such as the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Minnesota Twins and St. Louis Cardinals.

The Asbury Plaza store features teams such as the Kansas City Chiefs and Chicago teams. At both stores, inventory rotates regularly based on customer feedback.

Another local retail opening of note occurred in May when Barnes & Noble began operating at 2531 Northwest Arterial. The store occupies the space previously filled by Pier 1 Imports between Famous Footwear and Five Below. Barnes & Noble is the world’s largest retail bookseller but also sells digital media, educational products, newspapers and magazines, among other items.